4 Psychopathology- Depression

Question 1

what is depression?

Answer 1

a mental illness/ disorder that is characterised by a change in mood

Question 2

what is the dsm?

Answer 2

a manual that clinicians use to help them diagnose patients with various disorders
-Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

Question 3

how many criteria must pateints fill in the DSM to be diagnosed with depression?

Answer 3

must be experiencing five or more symptons in the same 2 week period
-has to include either ‘depressed mood’ or ‘loss of interest and pleasure’

Question 4

what are the three types of characteristics for depresion?

Answer 4

Behavioural
Emotional
Cognitive

Question 5

give 3 behavioural characteristics of depression

Answer 5

-activity levels change
-disruption to eating
-aggression towards the self
(these are all actions)

Question 6

explain activity levels change
behavioural

Answer 6

diminshed interest and pleasure in most activities for most of the day, nearly every day.
can be accompanied by a slowing down of physical movement, fatigue or loss of energy

Question 7

explain disruption to eating
behavioural

Answer 7

weight loss of gain, or a change in appetite nearly every day

Question 8

explain aggression towards the self
behavioural

Answer 8

suicide attempt or a committing plan has occurred and been made

Question 9

give 2 emotional characteristics of depression

Answer 9

-lowered mood
-feelings of worthlessness and guilt
(these are all feelings)

Question 10

explain lowered mood
emotional

Answer 10

depressed mood for most of the day, nearly every day.
the sufferer feels unhappy about life, this interferes with daily life

Question 11

explain feelings of worthlessness and guilt
emotional

Answer 11

sense of insignificance in oneself, linked to self-blame. this creates stress and difficulty to function normally in daily lifw

Question 12

give 3 cognitive characteristics of depression

Answer 12

-poor concentration
-negative self schema
-suicidal ideation
(these are all thoughts)

Question 13

explain poor concentration
cognitive

Answer 13

find it hard to think or concentrate or make decisions nearly every day

Question 14

explain negative self schema
cognitive

Answer 14

negative and irrational beliefs of yourself, often linked to personal inadequancy.
the belief that you are unworthy and incapable of success

Question 15

explain suicidal ideation
cognitive

Answer 15

recurrent thoughts of death, suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing has been made. as well as recurrent ideation of suicide

Question 16

what is the cognitive approach to explain depression?

Answer 16

this focuses on how mental processes affect behaviour, particularly how negative or maladaptive biases in thinking lead to depression
-depression is a result of irrational thought processes and perceptions

Question 17

what is Ellis’s ABC model (1962)

Answer 17

he believed that depressed people mistakenly blame external events for their lowered mood and their interpretation of these events cause their distress
A- Activating event
B- Beliefs
C- Consequences

Question 18

describe how the ABC approach works?

Answer 18

the irrational beliefs about the activating event causes the consequence of lowered mood etc
-rational thoughts lead to an adaptive response (positive)
-irrational thoughts lead to an maladaptive response (negative)

Question 19

what does REBT stand for?

Answer 19

rational emotive behavioural therapy

Question 20

how does REBT work?

Answer 20

the irrational beliefs and interpretations of the event are reframed to challenge negative thoughts by reinterpreting the ABC model in a more positive, logical and adaptive way.
Dispute
Effective
Feelings

Question 21

supporting study
AO3 of Ellis ABC

Answer 21

Hammen and Krantz 1976
they found that depressed participants made more errors in logical answers
-suggesting that irrational belief exist in depressed people, impacting the way they view things, and consequently behave

Question 22

opposing idea
AO3 of Ellis ABC

Answer 22

the biological explanation suggests that genes, hormones, and brain chemicals play a role. Depression often runs in families, which suggests that individuals may inherit genes that make them vulnerable to developing depression.
-a holistic account may be needed to explain depression

Question 23

application
AO3 of Ellis ABC

Answer 23

REBT as a treatment for depression
Dispute, Effective, Feeling
-therapist confronts the irrational beliefs by providing evidence and logical arguments about why their thoughts do not make sense. they then reconstruct beliefs for better consequences
-explaining the irrationality of the thoughts directly to the patient

Question 24

does depression have a clear cause?
AO3 of Ellis ABC

Answer 24

it is unclear if irrational beliefs are the CAUSE of depression
-the association with negative thoughts may have a faulty cognition which is a negative consequence of depression, instead of a cause
-cannot be confidently concluded that depression is a direct result of faulty cognitive processing

Question 25

what are the three elements in becks negative triad (1967)?

Answer 25

schemas
negative triad
distortions

Question 26

what are schemas?

Answer 26

small packages of information that provide frameworks or explanations based on experiences which allow us to quickly process sensory information and make automatic assumptions and responses

Question 27

what do negative schemas result in?
(becks negative triad)

Answer 27

automatic negative cognitive biases
-leading to maladaptive thoughts and beliefs

Question 28

what is the cognitive negative triad?
(beck)

Answer 28

negative biases/ attitudes towards the self, world and future are created automatically
-leading to avoidance, social withdrawal and inaction

Question 29

what are distortions/biases in becks negative triad?

Answer 29

the negative schemas are fuelled by cognitive biases
-leading to a reinforcement of the irrational beliefs

Question 30

explain the distortions?
(becks negative triad)

Answer 30

catastrophising / over generalisation- involves exaggerating and drawing negative conclusions based on a single negative event

selective abstraction- focusing on only the negatives and overlooking the positives (filtering)

Question 31

supporting study
(AO3 becks negative triad)

Answer 31

D’Alessandro (2002) found that students’ negative views about their futures were strongly associated with an increase in depressed mood
-this suggesting that experiences affect thinking about their future
(negative triad)

Question 32

opposing idea
(AO3 becks negative triad)

Answer 32

biological explanation proposes that genetics play a role and influence our behaviour
-the negative triad suggests that irrational thoughts cause depressive behaviour
-therefore a more holistic approach is needed

Question 33

application
(AO3 becks negative triad)

Answer 33

treating depression with CBT
Cognitive behavioural therapy works by identifying, challenging and changing irrational, negative thoughts
-useful in suggesting ways to manage the symptoms of depression
(gives tools for life)

Question 34

explain how CBT works

Answer 34

1. identification of irrational and negative thoughts through thought catching
   -they are challenged and disputed
2. homework tasks are set, usually a diary is kept and negative thoughts/ events are recorded so they can be targeted
3. cognitive reconstructing occurs with thought processes reconstructed to overcome distortions and the focus is on reinforcing positive thoughts.

Question 35

supporting study
(CBT AO3)

Answer 35

March et al 2007
-randomly assigned 327 depressed patients into 3 groups
-results showed that taking CBT or drugs individually improved rates by 81% after 36 weeks
-and CBT and drugs COMBINED showed 86% rates of improvement
-shows that CBT alone is not adequate, both combined is most effective

Question 36

empowerment?
(CBT AO3)

Answer 36

patients feel empowered as they are involved in the treatment
-they complete homework tasks, requiring control, motivation and commitment
-active contributors to the treatment

Question 37

time and effort
(CBT AO3)

Answer 37

CBT requires A LOT of time and effort as motivation and comittment is needed
-most severe depression patients will not be able to find this motivation to go to these sessions making drop out rates high and the lowering the effectiveness of CBT
-drugs are easier to adhere to as the process is less demanding

Question 38

root cause vs symptoms treated
(CBT AO3)

Answer 38

CBT aims to modify and challenge the symptons
-thought processes are changed to more adaptive patterns of thinking
-this gives tools for life which can in the long term benefit patients
-drugs are only effective in the short term when they are being taken

Question 39

competence of the therapist affecting outcomes?
(CBT AO3)

Answer 39

Kuyken and Tsivrikos in 2009 found that therapists who were more competent had better outcome son treating their depressed patients
- however, we cannot be sure that all therapists are delivering treatment in the same way